ROANOKE, La. (KLFY) — Customers of a truck stop in Jeff Davis Parish recently got an unexpectedly close look at a Russian tank captured in Ukraine.

According to a report on the website The War Zone, a Russian T-90A tank from Ukraine wound up parked at Peto’s Travel Center and Casino in Roanoke for two days.

The tank was being transported along I-10 to the Aberdeen Test Center in Maryland, when the truck hauling it broke down. The hauler had to go back to Houston and get a new truck and asked if they could store it at Peto’s.

“I’ve been here seven years,” assistant manager Valerie Mott told The War Zone Thursday morning. “I’ve never seen [a tank] here before.”

The report quoted Sue Gough, a Pentagon spokesperson, as confirming the tank was on its way to Aberdeen.

“The tank’s explosive reactive armor was inert, it was not armed or carrying any dangerous material, and at no point posed a risk to the public,” Gough said.

The T-90A, which had damaged front and rear fenders, is fairly modern by Russian standards, having been produced in 2004, according to the report. Photos of the tank showed that it was not fully kitted out, but did have some explosive reactive armor (ERA) containers on the turret. Its various machine guns had been removed.

A Russian T-90A tank, apparently captured by Ukraine last fall, was left at a Louisiana truck stop after the truck hauling it broke down. (Courtesy of Reddit user Mutantlight)

According to the report, open-source intelligence investigators say the tank was captured by Ukraine from Russia last September.

Given its destination, it is likely that the tank could be used for destructive testing, such as testing weaponry against it. It could also be used to familiarize troops with foreign equipment, or in some other capacity.

The War Zone is an online media source dedicated to military, defense and geopolitics coverage and analysis.